Steam-boiler.



4, 0 9 1. 8, R. A M D E T N E T A P R. E Tn... R0 WB M GA E. CT .S 8. 21 4 5 n N PPLIOATION FILED MAE. 27. 1903.v

3 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

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Wifnesses PATBNTED MAR. s, 1904. c. G. CURTIS. STEAM BOILER.

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APPLICATION FILED MAE. 27. 1903.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

vWitnesses co., PHomLnmo.. wASHmGTo PATENTED MAR. 8, 1 904. C. G.CURTIS. i

STEAM BOILBR.

APPLIOATION FILED MAB.. 27, 190s.

N0 MODEL.

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' will aord abundant opportunity for the trans- Patented March 8, 1904.

ATENT vrines.

CHARLES CURTIS,OF YORK, N. Y.

STEAM-BOILER.

SPECIFICATION forming` part of lLetters Patent No. 754,128, dated March8, 1904.

Application filed March 27, 1903.4

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, CHARLES G. CURTIS, a citizen of the United States,residing in the borough of Manhattan, city of New York, State of NewYork, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement inSteam-Boilers, of which the following is a description. y

Experience has shown it to be exceedingly desirable that water-tubeboilers should possess the following features: first, accessibility ofthe tubes for internal cleaning and for removal through removablecovering plates; second, absence of baffle-plates, which become warpedand destroyed by the heat and collect dust and cinders; third', a closeproximity of the tubes, so as to afford a comparatively limited area forthe escape of the products of combustion, and, fourth, accessibility tothe spaces between the tubes to enable their' external surfaces to becleaned from the front or rear of the boiler, and preferably withoutwithdrawing the fires. These features have not heretofore been combinedin the same boiler. The purpose of my invention is to accomplish thisresult.

In my improved boiler a number of sections are employed composed ofheaders and watertubes connecting' vtheir inner or adjoining walls, thehot gases of combustion passing transversely through the spaces betweenthe tubes. The tubes are placed in such close proximity that thecombined area of the tubespaces to which the gases are confined in theirescape may be the usual ten to twenty-five per cent. of thegrate-surface, and a single passage of the products of combustionthrougha moderate number of superposed rows of tubes fer of heat fromthe products of combustion to the water within the tubes, owing to theuniform distribution of the products in thin streams over the tubes.EfHcient extraction of their heat may thus be secured with a moderatenumber of tubes and without baiiieplates to direct the gases two or moretimes through the tube-spaces. To give access to the tubes for cleaningthem internally or for removal and replacement, the outer walls of theheaders, or those at one end, are provided with covered openings whichexpose the ends Serial No.. 149,837. (No model.)

of all the tubes. Each of these openings covers a group of tubesoccupying a substantial portion of the transverse area of theboilersection. The larger spaces or gaps which are necessarily leftbetween tubes of adjoining groups or between the outside groups and theside walls or partitions of the boiler are closed, so as to conne theescape of the gases to the small spaces between the tubes. Openings forexposing single tubes cannot be employed with tubes of the desirablysmall size, because with the necessary close proximity of the tubesthere is not rooin in the outer walls of the headers for the openingsand their covers and steam-tight joints. Openings exposing each a smallnurnber of tubes are also impracticable, because the numerous smallgroups of tubes would produce numerous gaps between the groups whichwould have to be closed in order to confine the gases to thevtube-spaces, and this would result in complication and in anundesirable reduction of tube-surface for a given transverse area. Theoblong openings in the outer walls of the headers of my 'improved boilerare covered by oblong plates, such as are described in my applicationfor patent, Serial No. 145,913, filed March 3, 1903, which are largerthan the openings and are lintroduced into the headers through theopenings by tilting them to an angle both lengthwise and crosswise, whenthey are drawn to seats on the inner side of the outerV walls of theheaders and held in place by cross bars and bolts, the joints being madesteam-tight by the use of tongue-and-groove joints with gaskets. Thecovers are thus fitted on the inner side of the openings, and thesteam-pressure assists in keeping'the joints steam-tight. rIhe boilersections are preferably arranged horizontally one above another, thegases passing directly Aupward and transversely through the tube-spacesof the two or more sections, and the tubes of the sections are alsoinclined to insure the circulation of the water through them to and fromthe steam-drum. No bai'iieplates being used, the dust from the productsof combustion accumulates only on the surfaces of the water-tubes. Iprovide for the removal of the dust by supporting the superimposedheaders so as to leave a space be- IOO tween them large enough to permitthe introduction of a steamhose and brushes at the front or rear of theboiler, or both, for removing the dust or scale from the tubes, thusdoing away with the necessity oi' leaving spaces at the sides of theboiler or between divisions of the boiler for giving access to theboiler from the sides. The sections are connected with the steam drum byremovable connections, so that the sections can be independently removedfrom the boiler for inspection or repair or for replacement by newsections, thus enabling the maintenance of the boiler in good condition.The boiler is provided with waterleg partitions between divisions or atthe sides of the boiler, these being formed by upright headers connectedat least up to the level of the lowermost water-tube sections byrectangular watertubes without spaces between them, these headers beingcontinued upwardly as stand -pipes to the steam drum or drums, which aresupported upon them. The headers oi' the water-tube connections, or atleast one set ot' such headers, are connected directly at one end to thepartition stand-pipes by removable connections located inside of thewater-space and accessible through the openings in the headers, thuspermitting the removal of the sections and providing for the connectionof the headers with the steam-drum without a multiplicity of smallnipples and joints. This construction in addition enables the headers otthe water-tube sections and the partition-headers and stand-pipes to bemade up of heavyplatework, like the Scotch boiler.

1n the accompanyingdrawings, Figure 1 is a front elevation oi' theboiler with the front wall removed and the covers of a number of thefront head ers also removed. Fig. 2 is a vertical section on line 2 2 ofFig. 1, the front and rear walls or plates of the boiler being removed.Fig. 3 is a sectional view showing the manner of connecting the headersof the horizontal water-tube sections with a standpipe of one of thewater-leg partitions. Fig. 4 is a sectional view showing' the manner or'closing the ends of the water-tube headers which are not connected withthe stand-pipes. Fig. 5 is a cross-section of one of the watertubeheaders, taken on line 5 in' Fig. 3. Fig. 6 is aview similar to Fig. 3,showing the connection of a water-tube header with a standpipe of thewater-leg partition forming the outer side of the outer division of theboiler. Fig. 7 is a Vertical section through the rear stand-pipe of oneot' the water-leg partitions, showing the division of the stand-pipeinto a number oi' water-circulating' channels. Fig. 8 is an elevationtaken at the rear or' the boiler, showing a modified way of supportingand connecting the rear headers of the two lower water-tube sectionswith the water-leg standpipe. Fig. 9 is a section on line 9 9 in Fig. 8,and Fig. 10 is a section on line 10 10 in Fig. 9.

The boiler is made up of water-tube sections each composed ot'horizontal headers connected by inclined water-tubes and arranged one ontop of another. The boiler is set up in divisions each containing,preferably, two stacks ofv these sections, the divisions being separatedby water-leg partitions and having separate tire-boxes and grates. T heheaders A and B oi' the water-tube sections are made or' wrought-steeland may be formed ot' tubes crushed into rectangular form incross-section. The inner or adjoining walls of each pair ot' headers areconnected by water-tubes C, which are expanded into openings in suchwalls. The outer wall oi'each header is provided with an oblong openingextending substantially the entire length of the header, which openingis closed by a steam-tight cover l), closing' the opening from the innerside of the header by means of a tongue-and-groove joint, the coverbeing drawn to its seat and held in place by' cross bars or yokes 11,through which bolts from the cover pass, receiving upon their outer endsnuts 12. (See Fig. 5.) The cover D is removable through the opening inthe header, as described in my application, Serial No. 145,913, filedMarch 3, 1903. By providing a single oblong opening in each headerextending practically its entire length the water-tubes of each sectioncan be closely spaced and can be uniformly distributed over the entirespace occupied by the inner wall of the header opposite such opening, sothat the entire space between the headers, except i'or a necessarymargin at the ends and at the top and bottom edges, can be filled withwatertubes uniformly distributed and separated the minimum practicabledistance. The boiler is built up of stacks of these sections placed oneupon another, one end of the sections (preferably the rear end) beingelevated above the other end, so as to incline the watertubes and causethe circulation of the water therethrough. As illustrated in thedrawings, the boiler is formed of several divisions separated bywater-leg partitions, each division being provided with two stacks ofthe watertube sections. Each of the water-leg partitions is composed oftwo vertical headers EF of rectangular form made of plates rivetedtogether, Fig. 10, and connected opposite the {ire-boxes of theboiler-divisions by pipes G of rectangular section, which are inclinedand which are connected with the headers, as is described in myapplication before referred to. These water-leg headers are providedwith oblong covered openings in their outer walls throughout the spaceoccupied by the pipes G, as described in said application. Therectangular pipes Gr are in contact with each other, so as to form aclosed partition between the tire-boxes of the ad joining boiler-divisions. Each of these boiler-divisions is provided with a grate H. Theheaders E F ot' the water-leg partitions are continued upwardly in the`form IOO IIO

of uprights or stand-pipes IK, which expand or enlarge in an upwarddirection, so as to aiord a space enlarging upwardly for the circulationof the water. The stand-pipes of each pair I K are connected to theopposite ends of a steam-drum L, which is supported upon thestand-pipes. The ends of the headers A B of the water-tube sectionsadjoining the standpipes I K of each water-leg partition are connectedto such stand-pipes, soas to circulate the water therethrough and so asto be supported thereby in any suitable manner. An effective way ofdoing this is illustrated in Fig. 3. The side walls of the water-legstandpipe are provided with openings 13, around which grooves 14 are cuton the outer surface of the walls. The ends of adjoining water-tubeheaders are reduced to form tongues 15, which enter the grooves 14 andin conjunction with gaskets placed in said grooves form steamtightjoints between the headers and the' standpipe. To hold the parts inposition, each of the headers is provided lat its end with a crossbrace16,' which is secured by rivets within the header, and thesecross-braces are connected by bolts 17, having nuts on their ends whichcan be set up through the openings in the outer walls of the headers.Above and below the openings 13 in the water-leg standpipe the sidewalls of the stand-pipe may be connected with one or more stay-bolts 18,which engage, by means of screw-threads, with holes of different sizesin such walls, the ends of these bolts being cut off and upset into theform of rivets after the bolts are screwed into place. The bolts 18strengthen the standpipes-at the openings 13, preventing either thespreading or collaspingof the walls. Where two stacks of headers areused for each boiler-division, and therefore only one end of each headercan be connected with a waterleg stand-pipe, the other ends of thewatertube headers are closed by plates 19, Fig. 4, which are riveted inthe ends of the headers. The adjoining ends of the headers of thelowermost water-tube sections are supported on plates l2O, and blocks21, inserted between the headers and those next above, continue andcomplete the support for all the water-tube headers at their ends whichare not supported by the water-leg stand-pipes. The upwardlyenlargingwatercirculating space afforded by the water-leg stand-pipes may in thecase of the rear stand-pipe of each water-leg, through which the hotwater flows upwardly from the water-tubes, be divided by sheet-ironpartitions, so as to separate this space into channels for preventingeddies and making the circulation more effective. In Fig. 2 one of suchpartitions 22 is shown in dotted lines, while in Fig. 7 three of suchpartitions 22 are shown, dividing the space into four channels, one ofwhich receives the water from the water-pipes of the water-leg and onefrom the three upper water-tube sections, while the two lowermostwater-tube sections are provided with separate channels. The importantthing to provide is a good circulation for the water from the ,two lowerwater-tube sections, since the tubes of these sections receive the tirsteiects of the products of combustion and extract a larger proportion ofheat therefrom than do the tubes of the sections above. Since the tubesof the two lower water-tube sections are subjected to a high degree ofheat, it may be desirable to provide for a limited expansion or increasein length of these sections due to the eifect of this heat. For thatpurpose the construction illustrated in Figs. 8 and 9 may be employed.In these figures the rear headers B of the two lowermost watertubesections are not connected with the 'rear stand-pipes K of thewater-legs, but have their ends adjoining the water-leg stand-pipesclosed by plates, as illustrated in Fig. 4. The lowermost section issupported at the stand-pipe by a bracket 23, while a block 24 betweenthe headers supports the upper of these two headers. For connecting theheaders with the water-leg stand-pipe, so as to secure the return of thehot water to the steam-drum, a pipe 25 is employed, having connections26 which extend to the covers of the headers. The pipe 25 extendsobliquely upward and connects with the rear wall of the stand-pipe Knear the steam-drum. The length of thev pipe 25 permits a limitedmovement of the headers B of the two lower sections without breaking theconnections. In Fig. 6 is illustrated the connection between the headerofa water-tube section and one of the water-leg stand-pipes located atthe outer side wall of the boiler and terminating the boiler in `thatdirection. There being no header connected with the other wall of thestand-pipe, the bolts 17 extend from the brace 16 through a bracket 27,secured within the stand-pipe and crossing the opening 13.

In order to confine the escape 'of the products of combustion to thespaces between the water-tubes, I provide the following arrangement: Ateach water-leg partition there is supported upon the uppermost pipe G aline of fire-bricks 28, lling the space between the front and rearstand-pipes I K and extending up to or above the lower row oi' tubes ofthe second water-tube sections, as illustrated in dotted lines inFig. 1. Upon this wall of lire-brick is placed a U-shape or doublepartition 29, of sheet-iron, which extends upwardly to the top of theuppermost water-tube sections, completing the separation of the twodivisions of the boiler at this point and also confining the gases tothe spaces between the water-tubes. At the center of each division ofthe boiler a similar arrangement is employed. This consists of a doubleline of {irebricks 30, (shown in dotted lines in Fig. 1,) supportedbythe tubes at .the adjoining ends of the lowermost water-tube sectionsand ex- TOO IlO

tending upwardly to the tubes of the sections next above. Upon this lineof fire-bricks is supported a U-shape or double partition 31, ofsheet-iron, which closes the space between the adjoining groups ofwater-tubes and prevents the gases from passing upwardly except throughthe spaces between the water-tubes themselves.

The products of combustion pass directly upward through the water-tubeswithout being deiiected by baffle-plates. I am able to bring the tubesso close together that the cross-sectional area of the space throughwhich the gases pass bears the usual relation to the grate area-a'. e.,from ten to twenty-five per cent. of that a1ea-so that the gases areclicked back and caused to be distributed uniformly over the tubes,which afford the desirable large heat-absorbing surface compared withthe size of the column of escaping gases to effectively extractthe heatfrom such gases. It will be also observed that the steam-drums areconnected with the water-tube sections through the stand-pipes of thewater-leg partitions, thus doing away with the numerous connectionswhich are necessary when vertically-arranged water-tube sections areemployed which are individually connected with the steam-drums. Itshould be observed that by separating the headers of the superimposedwater-tube sections for a short distance by means of the blocks 21 Iprovide'a suiiicient space between these headers to enable theintroduction of a steam-hose for blowing the dust olf of thewater-tubes, a feature of great importance.

What I claim isl. In a steam-boiler, the combination of water-tubeslocated transverse to the flow of the products of combustion in theclose proximity described, with removable covers, each exposing the endsof a number of the water-tubes, substantially as set forth.

2. In a steam-boiler, the combination of water-tubes located transverseto the flow of the products of combustion in the close proximitydescribed, with removable covers, each exposing the ends of a number ofwater-tubes, and means for confining the escape of the gases to thesmall spaces between the tubes, substantially as set forth.

3. In a steam-boiler, the combination of water-tubes located in theclose proximity described, with removable covers each exposing the endsof a group of water-tubes, and means for closing the larger spaces orgaps between the groups of water-tubes, substantially as set forth.

f1. In a steam-boiler, the combination of two or more sections eachcomposed of two headers connected at their inner walls by watertubeslocated transverse to the flow of the products of combustion in theclose proximity described, with oblong openings each exposing the endsof ay group of tubes occupying a substantial portion of the transversearea of the section, and removable covers for such openings,substantially as set forth.

5. In a steam-boiler, the combination of two or more sections eachcomposed of two headers connected at their inner walls by watertubeslocated transverse to the flow of the products of combustion in theclose proximity described, with oblong openings each exposing the endsof a group of tubes occupying a substantial portion of the transversearea of the section, and removable covers for such openings seated onthe inner side of such openings, substantially as set forth.

6. In a steam-boiler, the combination of two or more sections eachcomposed of two headers connected at their inner walls by watertubeshaving 'the close proximity described, with oblong openings in the outerwalls of the headers each exposing a group of tubes occupying asubstantial portion of the transverse area of the section, removablecovers for such openings, and means for confining the escape of thegases to the small spaces between the tubes, substantially as set forth.

7. Ina steam-boiler, the combination of two or more sections eachcomposed of two headers connected at their inner walls by a plurality ofrows of small water-tubes located transverse to the iiow of the productsOfcombustion in the close proximity described, with oblong openings eachexposing the ends of a group of tubes occupying a substantial portion ofthe transverse area of the section, and removable covers for suchopenings, substantially as set forth.

8. In a steam-boiler, the combination of two or more water-tube sectionseach composed of two headers, and water-tubes located transverse to theflow of the products of combustion connecting the inner walls of suchheaders and having the close proximity described, with a single oblongopening exposing the entire area occupied by the ends of water-tubes,and a single oblong cover for said opening seated on the inner side ofthe opening, substantially as set forth.

9. In a steam-boiler, the combination of two or more horizontalwater-tube sections each composed of two headers and water-tubes havingthe close proxmity described, with means for confining the escape of thegases to the small spaces between the water-tubes, removable covers inthe outer walls of the headers for exposing the ends of the water-tubes,upright stand-pipes connected with the steamdrum, and removableconnections between the headers and such stand-pipes,substantially asset forth.

10. In a steam-boiler, the combination of two adjoining stacks ofhorizontal water-tube sections, each section being composed of twoheaders connected by water-tubes placed in the close proximitydescribed, with removable covers in the outer walls of the headers forexposing the ends of the water-tubes, standpipes supporting the headersat their outer ends and connecting them with the steamdrum, and meansfor closing the gaps between the water-tubes of the adjoining headers ofthe two stacks of sections, substantially as set forth.

11. In a steam-boiler, the combination of two or more divisions, eachdivision being provided with two adjoining stacks of horizontalwater-tube sections, and each of such sections being composed of twoheaders and watertubes connecting their inner walls and located in theclose proximity described, stand-pipes between the headers of adjoiningdivisions supporting such headers and connecting them with thesteam-drum, means for closing the gaps between the water-tubes of theadjoining sections in each division of the boiler, and means for closingthe gaps between the watertubes of the adjoining sections of differentdivisions of the boiler, substantially as set forth.

12. In a steam-boiler, the combination with a horizontal header for awater-tube section, of an upright stand-pipe connecting the header withthe steam-drum, a removable joint between the header and the upright,means for securing the header and upright together located within thewater-space, and a cover on the header for giving access to theconnecting devices, substantially as set forth.

13. In a steam-boiler, the combination with an upright connected withthe steam-drum, of two headers for water-tube sections connected in linewith each other on opposite sides of the upright, means forsimultaneously clamping the two headers to the upright located in thewater-space, and removable covers on the headers for giving access tothe connecting devices, substantially as set forth.

14:. In a steam-boiler, the combination with an upright connected withthe steam-drum, of two headers for water-tube sections connected in linewith each other on opposite sides of the upright, means forsimultaneously clamping the two headers to the upright located in thewater-space, removable covers on the headers for giving access to theconnecting devices, and braces connecting the walls of the uprightadjoining the clamping devices, substantially as set forth.

15. In a steam-boiler, the combination of two or more water-tubesections each composed of two headers connected by watertubes locatedtransverse to the flow of the products of combustion in the closeproximity described, the escape of the products of combustion beingconfined to the spaces between the water-tubes, with spaces between theheaders for permitting the cleaning of the outer surfaces of the tubes,and removable covers on the outer walls of the headers each exposing theends of a number of the water-tubes, substantially as set forth.

16. In a steam-boiler, the combination of two or more superposedhorizontal water-tube sections each composed of two headers, andwater-tubes connecting such headers and having the close proximitydescribed, With means for confining the escape of the gases to the smallspaces between the water-tubes, spaces between the headers forpermitting the cleaning of the outer surfaces of the tubes, andremovable covers on the outer walls of the headers, each exposing theends of a number of the water-tubes, substantially as set forth.

17. In a steam-boiler,the combination of the horizontally-arrangedwater-tube sections, the water-leg partitions separating divisions ofthe boiler, stand-pipes from said water-leg partitions connecting withthe steam-drums, direct connections between opposite sides of suchwater-leg stand-pipes and the headers of adjoining water-tube sections,and a partition separating the space between the tubes of thelwater-tube sections connected with the standpipes, consisting of a wallof fire-brick filling the space between the tubes of the lowermostwater-tube sections and a double metal partition extending from eachside of the fire-brick wall to the top of the boiler, substantially asset forth.

18. In a steam-boiler, the combination of horizontally arranged watertube sections, stand-pipes to which the headers of said Watertubesections are directly connected in pairs at one end, the other ends ofsuch headers being closed, and partitions between the adjoining closedends of the headers closing the space between the water-tubes of theadjoining sections, consisting of a wall of {ire-brick closing the spacebetween the tubes of the lowermost sections and a double metal wallrising from opposite sides of the fire-brick wall to the top of theboiler, substantially as set forth.

19. In a steam-boiler, the combination with water-leg partitionsseparating the divisions of the boiler and having stand-pipes connectedwith the steam drums, of horizontally arranged water-tube sectionsplaced one above another, two stacks of such sections being locatedbetween' each pair of water-leg partitions, the ends of the headers ofsuch sections adjoining the water-leg partitions being directlyconnected to the water-leg stand-pipes and the other ends of suchheaders being closed,

and partitions filling the spaces between they water-tube sections atthe water-leg partitions and between the tubes at the closed ends of theheaders, consisting of walls of fire-brick and double metal partitionsrising from the outer edges of such fire-brick walls to the top of theboiler, substantially as set forth.

20. In a steam-boiler, the combination with thehorizontally-arrangedwater-tube sections, of the water-leg partitions, the stand-pipes fromsuch partitions to which the headers of the water-tube sections areconnected, such IOO IIO

stand-pipes being expanded upwardly, and partitions in said stand-pipes,substantially as set forth.

2l. In a steam-boiler, the combination with the Water-leg partitions andstand-pipes therefrom, of the horizontally-arranged watertubc sections,the headers of the upper water-tube sections being connected directlywith such stand-pipes, the headers of the lower sections being connectedto only one of such standpipes, and a connection from the other headersof such lower sections to the stand-pipe through a pipe or pipespermitting of the cxpansion of the water-tube sections, substantially asset forth. r

22. In a steam-boiler, the combination of a plurality of layers ofwater-tubes arranged transverse to the flow of the products ofcombustion, water-chambers at the ends of the tubes, openings in thewater-chambers with removable covers each exposing the ends of a numberof tubes, spaces between the waterchambers giving' access to the spacesbetween giving access to the spaces between layers of tubes for cleaningthe outer surfaces of the tubes, and means for closing the gaps betweenthe groups of tubes, substantially as set forth. rfhis specificationsigned and witnessed this 23d day of March, 1903.

CHARLES G. CURTIS. Ilfitnesses: J'No. Ron'r. TAYLOR,

JOHN LoUIs Lo'rscH.

